Such intelligent insights and great guidance, as always! I had not seen all those definitions of purpose. Do you think they all involve transcending the self? I’ve never seen human purpose that isn’t about contributing to something beyond oneself. But I could be missing something!
The variation in purpose definitions across fields was a big learning for me while researching this, too, Bea. I felt that not everyone was talking about the same thing when they used the term but I hadn't seen it pulled together like this.
The psychological literature suggests that contributing to something bigger is key to purpose but it doesn't have to be prosocial, which is interesting. There is a body of work on self-oriented purpose too, such as accepting one's authentic self. Endless learning to be done ;-)
Such intelligent insights and great guidance, as always! I had not seen all those definitions of purpose. Do you think they all involve transcending the self? I’ve never seen human purpose that isn’t about contributing to something beyond oneself. But I could be missing something!
The variation in purpose definitions across fields was a big learning for me while researching this, too, Bea. I felt that not everyone was talking about the same thing when they used the term but I hadn't seen it pulled together like this.
The psychological literature suggests that contributing to something bigger is key to purpose but it doesn't have to be prosocial, which is interesting. There is a body of work on self-oriented purpose too, such as accepting one's authentic self. Endless learning to be done ;-)